1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a telescopic sight mount with adjustable forward tilt in order to be able, in long-distance firing, to change the forward tilt angle between telescopic sight and barrel in such a way that the vertical adjustment travel of the telescopic sight is sufficient to be able to set it to the desired firing distance.
2. Discussion of Background Information
Following firing from a firearm, the projectile follows a trajectory whose curvature is dependent on various influence factors, such as projectile weight and projectile velocity. Following sighting of the weapon to 100 m, for example, the telescopic sight can be adapted to various firing distances by an adjustment of the reticle. The adjustment path of each telescopic sight is mechanically limited, however, so that only a distance range of about 50-600 m, for example, can be covered. If the desired firing distance lies outside this range, for example at around 800 m, this can no longer be achieved by an adjustment of the reticle.
Telescopic sights are connected to the firearm with the aid of telescopic sight mounts. Normally, the optical axis of the telescopic sight and the barrel bore axis of the weapon here lie coaxially to each other. Due to the trajectory of the projectile, which strongly decreases in the event of large distances to the target, the telescopic sight is in some cases mounted on the weapon with a forward-tilted telescopic sight mount. Given different combinations of ammunition, barrel, weapon system, telescopic sight mount, telescopic sight and desired firing distance used, different angles of forward tilt are necessary to ensure that the available vertical adjustment path of the telescopic sight is sufficient to set the reticle to different firing distances.
If the telescopic sight is mounted with a telescopic sight mount which has a fixed forward tilt of, for example, 20 MOA (Minutes Of Angle), then this combination can be suitable for a specific application. Given a different combination, another forward tilt angle may be necessary, however, to enable the reticle of the telescopic sight to be set to the desired firing distance.
This problem can be addressed by the provision of a plurality of telescopic sight mounts having different fixedly integrated forward tilts. This calls, however, for a corresponding variety of parts and matching stock keeping. Moreover, the telescopic sight mount having the appropriate forward tilt would have to be found by trial and error, i.e. by repeated remounting. A substantially simpler and more practicable solution to this problem is a telescopic sight mount in which the tilt is adjustable.
Various telescopic sight mounts in which the forward tilt can be altered or adjusted are known:
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,951,292 a telescopic sight mount in which the tilt can be adjusted by horizontally arranged wheels is described.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 3,340,614, the tilt of the telescopic sight is adjusted by the turning of an adjusting wheel arranged around the telescopic sight body.
According to US 2004/0144013 A1, the tilt of the telescopic sight is adjusted by a vertically arranged tower.
According to German Utility Model No. DE 20 2010 003 668 U1, the tilt of the telescopic sight is defined by the installation of different inlays.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,304, the tilt of the telescopic sight is adjusted by the operation of a lever.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 2,663,083, the tilt of the telescopic sight is set by a vertically arranged adjusting screw.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,566, the tilt of the telescopic sight is altered by virtue of a component part which is built into the ring of the telescopic sight mount having a vertically arranged slot and being passed through horizontally and transversely to the firing direction by a clamping screw, which is displaced along the slot.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,539, a plurality of freely selectable tilt angles are stored by individually adjustable screws.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,915, the tilt of the telescopic sight is altered by connection of the mounting rings to the mounting bases in various positions by means of screws.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,037 B2, the tilt of the telescopic sight is set by a horizontally arranged wheel, which has on one side a threaded shank having a right-hand thread and on the other side a threaded shank having a left-hand thread.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,662,486 B2, the tilt of the telescopic sight is altered by a grooved cam.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,143 B1, the tilt is altered by the displacement of a shaft.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 8,079,171 B2, the tilt is altered by pinning.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 7,543,405 B1, the tilt is altered, as already in the above-stated patent of the same inventor, by the displacement of a shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,240,075 B1, the tilt is altered by a horizontally arranged adjusting wheel.
The entire disclosures of all of the above documents are incorporated by reference herein.
A telescopic sight mount with adjustable forward tilt can be used in hunting or in sport shooting. In particular, however, on militarily used weapons having particularly long range and correspondingly high-performance calibers, such a mount brings significant benefits for the user.
An obvious construction of a telescopic sight mount of this kind consists of a hinged portion and a portion having an adjusting mechanism. Known hinges, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,079,172 B2, 8,240,075 B1, 7,543,405 B1, 7,140,143 B1, 6,662,486 B2, 5,400,539, 5,086,566, 4,317,304, and 3,340,614, DE 20 2010 003 668 U1, US 2004/0144013 A1, have two component parts, which, in conjunction with a cylindrical shaft or a screw, form the hinge. In order to ensure the working of the hinge, the shaft or screw in at least one of the two parts must have a slight radial play. Although, in precisely worked hinge joints, this play is very small, it can lead during use to losses of precision if the generated forces are large enough and the shaft is radially displaced within the borehole within the scope of this play. The axial clamping of the hinge by means of a screw joint ultimately constitutes, due to the necessary play of the shaft in one of the component parts, a non-positive and not a positive connection.
Absolute reliability and robustness under extremely rough usage conditions is of crucial importance, particularly in the case of militarily used weapons. In order to achieve this, the telescopic sight mount should consist of as few individual parts as possible and the connection of the individual components should be positive and not non-positive. Moreover, as few losable parts as possible should be used, which means that the telescopic sight mount does not have to be dismantled, or removed from the weapon, in order to set the forward tilt. A simplest possible execution of the adjustment is also of particular importance in order that operating errors can as far as possible be precluded.
It would be advantageous to be overcome the drawbacks of the known devices.